After a difficult January, are the 2-time defending national champion UConn Huskies ready to roll?
STORRS, Conn. (AP) — There might not be a team happier to see January in the rear-view mirror than two-time defending national champion UConn.
On the way to a second straight title during the 2023-24 season, not only did the Huskies go undefeated in January, but they never trailed by double digits in those eight games.
What a difference a year makes. With four starters selected in the 2024 NBA Draft and an injury sidelining talented freshman Liam McNeeley, UConn had to battle its way through every game in January. The No. 19 Huskies needed overtime to win at home against a Butler team with one Big East win. Just over a week later, the Huskies figured to have an easier team when a DePaul team that recently snapped a 39-game regular-season conference losing streak came to Connecticut. The Huskies had to overcome a 14-point deficit before winning by 11.
That game was part of a stretch when the Huskies trailed by at least 10 points four times in seven games. Even the five wins in January were a bit of a grind.
“It is stressful to play at UConn,” coach Dan Hurley said. "When you are not as good as we have been, it is uncharted territory for Alex (Karaban), Samson (Johnson), Hassan (Diarra), Solo (Ball), Jaylin (Stewart) and Jayden (Ross). They are not used to playing as many games like this, they are used to dominance. I think even the new guys — Tarris (Reed Jr.) and Aidan (Mahaney), it is a different kind of pressure when you play at a place like UConn."
A turning point for UConn seemed to come late in the first half and the second half of the Jan. 29 game against DePaul. The Huskies used that momentum to look like a team that came into the season as one of the favorites to win the national title by winning at Marquette a few days later.
“It helped us tremendously,” Ball said. “The more we got to be together and work as one, it turned the game around. We had a big turnaround, we were down (14) in the first half and we ended up turning it around and winning by 11. The last 26 minutes were UConn basketball.”
More "UConn basketball' was on display when the Huskies went on the road and won against a top-10 Marquette team in its first game in February. Even that game showed some of the flaws of this year's UConn team.
The Huskies committed 25 turnovers and allowed Marquette to come down with 17 offensive rebounds. Led by a career-high 25 points from Ball, the Huskies shot 59% in the game and 63% on 3-pointers en route to the 77-69 victory.
“It was a testament to the shooting numbers,” Hurley said. "There was a stretch in the second half when we weren’t desperate enough or urgent enough. It has been the story of the season. These are things that we haven’t done this year that our past teams have done.
“I am proud of the win but we don’t play with that tenacity that our past teams have played with. We got bailed out by Solo had a crazy shooting night and Alex hit a late shot-clock (shot).”
Hurley thought it was going to be a struggle following the departures of Stephon Castle, Donovan Clingan, Tristen Newton and Cam Spencer. However, he didn't think the journey would be quite this bumpy.
“What we are trying to do is incredibly hard,” Hurley said. "The former national champs that went back-to-back, they returned their whole team or at least all the stars from their team. What we did last year going back-to-back with only returning two starters, nobody had done that before. Now we are trying to do something that has never been done before, it is not going to be easy."
The good news is that McNeeley could be back when UConn plays at home against No. 12 St. John's on Friday night.
“When Liam was on the court, we were playing to a top-12 level,” Hurley said. “His absence has caused a lot of problems for this team that this team can’t overcome at this point. We just have to find a way to battle until we get whole again.”
With nearly a week off since the Marquette game, ailing point guard Diarra and McNeeley should be among the UConn players who will benefit additional recovery time.
UConn went 3-5 in January during the 2022-23 season and turned things around in time to win the national title. Time will tell if the Huskies can follow that script once again.
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